The Dodos – Time to Die
There's a time to be born and, as The Dodos, given their extinct namesake should know, a Time to Die. But man, what a way to go.
Fever Ray – Fever Ray
Karin Dreijer Andersson one half of The Knife now gives us Fever Ray, in the morning and fever ray all through the (Swedish) night.
Beach House – Teen Dream
Makers of mood music for moderns, Baltimore's daydream duo return with their sweet and sombre third album, Teen Dream.
Who The Hell Are… Civil Civic?
There aren't that many great instrumental duos in the history of rock and roll. I've thought about this for about 20 seconds or so and bored already. To arrive at that musical decision, and to arrive at that musical decision when your bandmate doesn't even live in the same country, is as perverse as it is stupid. Being as they are Australian, perverse stupidity is our calling, and it's why Civil Civic succeed where others have just gone "Dude, we need another member". With the title still up for grabs (or until some smart-ass avant-garde freak shoots me down), Civil Civic could turn out to be the greatest instrumental duo in the history of rock and roll. Wouldn't that be just dandy?
The Lemonheads – Varshons
Evan Dando and a cast of several come together to make the ultimate Lemonheads record so far. With an album featuring songs by Wire and Christina Aguilera, it's both "Strange" and "Beautiful".
Stephin Merritt – Obscurities
Obscurities he called it, but more like a forgotten treasure trove from all chapters of the Stephin Merritt songbook.